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Conservation programs guide farmers and ranchers in improving land, soil, and water quality.

Center for Rural Affairs

FARM BILL PRIORITIES

EQIP = Environmental Quality Incentive ProgramCSP = Conservation Stewardship ProgramCRP = Conservation Reserve Program

EQIP supports a variety of conservation practices, while CSP assists farmers who want to go “the extra mile” with additional practices. After enrolling in EQIP and CSP, farmers and ranchers can continue to work on their land, so EQIP and CSP are known as “working lands” programs. CRP provides rental payments for 10 to 15 years to landowners if they take land out of production and install various conservation practices.

How do EQIP, CSP, and CRP differ?

Preserve funding and continue technical assistance support. With these programs, farmers and ranchers can steward their soil and water resources for the next generation without breaking the bank.

Support farmers and ranchers in expanding conservation practices by making the transition from EQIP to CSP clear and easy.

Goal: Maintain the strength of our working lands conservation programs, EQIP and CSP.

STRATEGY

Strengthen links between crop insurance and conservation programs to reward farmers who invest in healthy soil and water.

• Offer higher crop insurance premium subsidy rates to farmers implementing conservation plans. This both rewards and incentivizes responsible stewardship.

• Cover crops are a valuable tool for farmers to use to manage the health of their soil and water. However, crop insurance rules currently treat planting cover crops differently from other farming practices, and farmers have to terminate cover crops by a certain date in order to qualify for crop insurance. These special rules for cover crops should be eliminated, and planting cover crops should be treated like every other farming practice, from planting to spraying.

Goal: Manage risk through conservation.

STRATEGY

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We want to do our part and share our story; we’re taking care of the land, we’re taking care of the water because we depend on it.

Henry Beel, EQIP participant, NebraskaPictured: Brothers Henry, Frank, and Adam Beel at their ranch.

What can I do to get involved?Sign up for our email updates at http://www.cfra.org/contact. We send out Rural Action Alert emails explaining issues and how you can help.

Call your representatives: A simple phone call to your representative can make a huge difference! To prepare, look up who your representatives are (call the Congressional switchboard at 202.224.3121 to ask) and write down their phone numbers somewhere easy to access.

First-time caller? Your call can be as simple as this:

“Hello, my name is _____ and I live in [city where you live - so they know that you’re a voter in

their district]. I am calling to let Rep./Sen. _____ know that I support [full funding for conservation

programs, targeted support for small and mid-sized farmers, programs that support beginning

farmers… etc.]. Thank you!”

Get more involved: Sign a letter of support to Congress or write a letter to the editor. We’re always happy to brainstorm ideas and work with you to draft a letter. Call us at 402.687.2103 ext. 1012.